Have you ever rushed through a project just to check it off your list – and instead of getting your usual dopamine spike and satisfaction of a job well done, you feel… underwhelmed with a niggling feeling that you could have done it better?
Over the past two weeks, I’ve been working on a longer, more in-depth video. And instead of pushing for speed, I’ve let myself take my time and see how long it naturally takes to complete each stage.
It’s completely changed how I’m thinking about work.
Pressure to go faster
As of Thursday, my last video went up 4 weeks ago. So I’ve been feeling pressure to move fast to get the next one out.
Choosing to create a video twice the length of my previous ones after two weeks off sick, was not the smartest idea in hindsight!
But we are where we are.
Ignoring pressure to go faster is a challenge.
Here are some techniques I developed to push it out of mind.
1. You have more control than you think
This experiment might sound like something you can’t do because deadlines are deadlines and you can’t move them. But, let’s challenge that belief for a minute.
I used to work in a creative agency where we had output deadlines everyday and project plans to stick to.
Even so, some team members always seemed to be chill and have loads of time and others (usually me) would be stressing out and rushing to get work done.
It took me a while to realise it, but my colleagues were far better at:
- Communicating with project managers about progress and problems
- Setting expectations about how much was possible in time frames
- Asking for help
- Delegating tasks
- Planning how they approached their work
- Ignoring distractions
I learnt how to do these things over time, but it’s still helpful to have a reminder that there are things you can do to take back some control and get some breathing space into your work.
If it’s a personal project you’re working on, ask yourself:
- Is this deadline real or self-imposed?
- Will anyone even notice if I take an extra day?
- Am I rushing just because I feel like I should?
2. Reframe speed as a trade-off
I kept asking myself this question:
Do I want this done fast, or do I want it done well?
When you rush things, you trade quality, creativity, and depth for speed. It takes time to do a job well, time for ideas to evolve and to explore or learn something in depth.
I’ve been reminding myself a lot this week, that going slower doesn’t mean I’m lazy. I’m actually doing more work than before, so it makes sense that it’s taking longer.
3. Notice when rushing feels bad
There’s a difference between how we feel when we’re pumped up and working quickly but effectively, and how we feel when we’re just working fast to bash something out.
Some amount of pressure helps us to stay motivated and focused, but too much makes us feel rushed creating stress, causing us to make mistakes, take shortcuts and do shallow work.
Whenever I was starting to feel anxious or scattered, I took it as a sign to stop rushing and actually take a break.
Our dog Moxie, has loved joining me on all my quick 5 minute breaks in the garden this week!
Shh… perfectionism
The risk I always run into if I allow myself to take longer on any task is that I will keep working and working until it’s ‘perfect’.
We all know that perfect doesn’t exist. So here’s how I’ve been taming my perfectionist.
1. Training my ‘good enough’ muscle
I’ve been saying this to myself several times a day over the last two weeks.
Done is better than perfect.
Sometimes the simple things are the best at jolting your mind into a different way of thinking.
It does seem at odds with the experiment of taking time, because it seems to imply speed and outcomes at all costs. But for someone who always wants to make things the best they can be, it’s very helpful.
Speaking of which…
2. Allowing myself some induglences
Imagine something you want to work on – a personal project, a hobby or a work project.
Now imagine you had all the time in the world to complete it.
- What would you do?
- How would you make it the best it could be?
- What would you love to dive into in more depth but you don’t have time to?
- What creative ideas do you have?
- What skills do you want to learn to make it better?
Of course, if I just did this indefinitely I’d never get my next video out!
We don’t have all the time in the world.
But we can choose what we do with that time.
So, I allowed myself to choose three/four things that i wanted to explore for this next video.
- Two new editing techniques
- A longer script
- More research depth
Anything else I want to explore has been put on the back burner for the next video. This has had a few key impacts:
- Allowed me to indulge my perfectionist because I’m improving my perception of quality with each video so I’m getting closer to ‘perfect’ each time
- Kept me interested in the process because I’m learning new things
- Kept me motivated to make this video so that I can move onto the next one and try some more new things
3. Reminding myself of the story of the pots
There’s a famous story that I’ve been telling myself not only over the last few weeks, but ever since I started my YouTube channel.
A ceramics teacher divided their class into two groups. One group was told they would be graded only on quantity – the more pots they made, the higher their grade. The other group was graded only on quality – they just had to produce one perfect pot.
By the end of the course, the quantity group produced the highest-quality pots. Because they made so many, they learned from their mistakes, improved with each attempt, and naturally got better. Meanwhile, the quality spent too much time theorizing and perfecting their one pot – without enough practice to refine their skills.
Something to try this week
Here’s a challenge for you this week:
👉 Pick one task, project, or hobby you wish you had more time for.
👉 Give yourself permission to slow down and focus on it – without distractions.
👉 Notice how it feels. Do you enjoy it more? Are you more engaged? What will you change going forward?